Keeping the Peace
by itanejiluver
Summary: The Hyuga and Uchiha clans have been at odds with each other for as long as anyo ne can remember. Can peace be reached, o r is the price to great? Pairings: ita ne ji. Yaoi/AU/Fluff.


Summary: The Hyuga and Uchiha clans have been at odds with each other for as lon g as anyone can remember. Can peace be r eached, or is the price to great? Pairin gs: itaneji. Yaoi/AU/Fluff.

**a/n**: Hey everyone! This is itanejiluver her e with another one-shot for you guys. I know that this basic idea has been used for a lot of story plots, but I hope you guys still enjoy this piece! Warnings: yaoi, implied M-preg, mild violence, and briefly mentioned sexual actions. Discl aimer on my profile…enjoy!

Keeping the Peace

A young woman with long, purple hair and pale white eyes sat on the lip of a mar ble fountain in the center of an expansi ve rose garden. She tilted her face up t owards the sky, and enjoyed a brief mome nt of respite in the warm glow of the af ternoon sun.

"Hinata?"

The young woman jumped, and smoothed dow n her skirt, attempting to hide her flus tered reaction. "N-Neji? What is it?"

A young man with long brown hair and sim ilar eyes joined her by the fountain. He ignored her question, and instead asked "What are you doing out here? Shouldn't you be inside with Hanabi, entertaining Duchess Rainsworth?"

Hinata flushed. "The Duchess left for a conference with Father." Her shy nature made it difficult to talk to anyone, muc h less entertain a guest with witty bant er and conversation over tea.

Neji's eyes softened in sympathy, but hi s tone was stern. "You shouldn't have ru n away so quickly. How long was Hanabi o n her own?"

Hinata's shoulders slumped. "…I left an hour after the Duchess arrived," she mum bled. The Duchess hadn't left for the co nference with her father until three hou rs after she'd excused herself.

Neji sighed and shook his head, but didn 't rebuke his cousin any further. "We sh ould go back inside."

"But—It's such a nice day out, Neji-nii! " A smile bloomed across Hinata's face, and she walked away from Neji to cup an enormous rose blossom in her hands. "Can 't we stay just a few minutes more?"

Neji relented, and wandered over with Hi nata. "Just a few minutes," he agreed. R eaching out, he ran his fingers across t he silken petals of a small yellow rose. Suddenly, he frowned, and turned back t owards the mansion.

Hinata raised an eyebrow; it was unusual for Neji to be so jumpy. "What's the ma tter?"

Neji scanned the windows of the great ma nsion for a few seconds before turning a way. "…Nothing." He frowned and shuddere d; he felt as if someone was watching hi m, but he couldn't see anyone in the win dows. "Let's go inside, Hinata."

Hinata opened her mouth, but then saw th e anxious expression on Neji's face. "Al right," she sighed, and followed Neji ba ck in to the Hyuga Manor.

Meanwhile, in the Hyuga manor, a tall yo ung man with with red eyes and black hai r twitched the heavy curtain back in pla ce across the glass window.

Another young man, with black spiky hair and black eyes, looked up from the docu ments he was scribbling furiously on. "W as there something outside? You've been looking out that window for a good ten m inutes."

"Just admiring the view," the other repl ied shortly. "…I have a headache. I'm go ing to go lie down…call me when I'm need ed."

"I will. Get some rest, Itachi."

Itachi responded with a faint snore.

XXX

"Hinata! Neji!" a harassed looking valet burst in to Hinata's sitting room where the two cousins sat, drinking tea. "Hur ry, the negotiations with Uchiha have ju st started!"

Neji hastily dropped his teacup on to th e table with the clatter, and jumped to his feet. He turned towards Hinata, who had also risen from the table. "What is the meaning of this? Uncle told us that the negotiations with the Uchiha would b egin after the banquet tonight."

The servant shook his head. "The Uchiha wanted to get started as quickly as poss ible; they have requested both of your p resences."

"Both—" Neji broke off in astonishment. "Specifically?"

"Yes. Quickly, master, go groom yourself . Everyone is waiting for you two to arr ive!"

Neji shot a sharp glance at Hinata befor e hurrying in to Hinata's bathroom to fi x his hair. He was the obscure son of a low-ranking earl in the Hyuga clan. Why would the Uchiha know of his existence, much less ask for his presence?

He hastily ran a brush through his hair, braided it tightly, and expected the en d result in the mirror. He looked relati vely presentable, and his suit was respe ctable enough for the occasion—but no ma tter, he didn't have time to be ditherin g over his appearance in the mirror. He strode back in to the sitting room where Hinata was slipping in to a pair of hig h-heeled shoes. Once her feet were prope rly in place, they took off towards the meeting hall with the valet leading the way.

The valet lead them through a side door in to the meeting hall, where Hinata scu rried up to sit by her father's side, an d Neji melted in to the shadows by the w alls.

To Neji's surprise, the discussion stopp ed when Hinata reached her seat. "Where is Neji, Hinata?"

"He is right there, Father," she murmure d, glancing in Neji's direction.

"Neji, come sit next to Hinata," Hiashi rumbled.

Neji blinked in shock. He doubted that h e was actually expected to participate i n the negotiations, but nevertheless…som eone with such a low rank as he was not expected to even remain seated in Hiashi 's presence.

Today was the last day of peace negotiat ions between the Hyuga and Uchiha clans; the clans had been warring and feuding for years, until increased violence on t he clan borders had lead events to where they stood now. Negotiations had been g oing on for a good three months, but thi s final day of discussion was the only o ne in which Neji had been requested to a ttend.

Neji scurried over and sat down beside H inata, secretly wishing that he'd kept h is hair down so that he could hide his f ace. Instead, he contented his shy natur e by staring down at his hands, and not looking across the table at the ominous, watchful faces of the Uchiha.

Negotiations slowly resumed. Neji was su rprised to see that Hinata was a sharp d ebater, and authoritative in her demands . However, Neji knew that most of the ta lk was for show; all of the conditions h ad already been met and written down; th e document simply needed the signatures of the two clan heads at the end of the meeting.

Two hours later, to Neji's surprise, the oldest son of the Uchiha clan abruptly interrupted the discussion and requested a break. Hiashi acquiesced, and Fugaku (the head of the Uchiha clan) and Itachi (the oldest son, heir to the clan leade rship) left the room.

Neji seized the growing volume of noise in the room to speak with his uncle. "Hi ashi-sama."

"Yes, Neji?"

"Why am I here?" Neji asked bluntly.

Hiashi frowned. "I do not know. Fugaku r equested your presence here today. That is all I can say on the matter."

"I see." Neji felt suspicion niggling in the corner of his mind; why would the h ead of the rival clan suddenly request h is presence on the last day of peace neg otiations? Neji couldn't figure out what was going on at all.

Eventually, everyone resumed their place s, and the debate began anew.

"We request, in addition to our other co nditions and demands, that Hyuga Neji gi ve his hand in marriage to my son, Itach i." Fugaku looked at Hiashi with great i nterest as to the other man's reaction.

Hiashi let forth no visible reaction to the request; on the other hand, Neji him self let forth an audible gasp, and his hand flew to his collarbone.

Surprisingly enough, the person with the most vigorous reaction was Hinata. "Una cceptable!" she said sharply. "Why would we hand Neji over to the likes of –"

"Silence, Hinata!" Hiashi cut her off sh arply. He was not surprised; he'd begun to suspect that something like this migh t happen, given the way that the entire Uchiha delegation observed Neji's every movement. "We will accept your offer."

Fugaku watched in interest when Hinata s tared at her father before launching in to an argument in a sharp whisper. To hi s surprise though, Neji expressed no reb ellion to the idea of being handed off t o the Uchiha. Instead, he remained seate d in his chair with his head lowered so that no one could see his eyes. His hand s were in his lap, but Fugaku was sure t hat his knuckles were turning white.

Hiashi batted Hinata's arguments away as if they were mere troublesome flies. "A s I stated earlier, we agree to this pro vision to the agreement, Fugaku."

Fugaku nodded in acquiescence. "Excellen t. We will take him with us when we star t back for Uchiha territory next week."

"Very well," Hiashi said shortly. "Howev er, we will be permitted to visit Neji, and in turn, Neji will be permitted to v isit us."

"But of course," Fugaku said smoothly. " We had no intentions of holding your nep hew hostage. We desire this marriage bec ause it will strengthen the piece far mo re than any written document ever could. "

Hiashi snorted, but left it at that, and steered the conversation to other matte rs.

Neji felt a chill running up his spine, and he swore that he felt the same gaze that had been watching him earlier upon him now. He chanced a quick look across the table, and was unsurprised to see It achi surveying him with interest.

As a low-ranking member of the clan, Nej i had no right to protest his uncle's or ders. It would be considered treason for him to rebel, which was why he hadn't s poken when Hiashi had accepted the marri age proposal. However, now, Neji felt ti ny and insecure in his seat at the long conference table. He knew absolutely not hing about marriage or love. His mind dr ifted from the conversation, and he foun d himself thinking about Itachi. Would I tachi be a good husband? Would Itachi hi t him? Was he expected to take his place in the Uchiha clan as Itachi's spouse, or would he be shunted to the side as an insignificant mistress? Neji felt tears of confusion welling up in his eyes, bu t held them back through the force of sh eer will.

Hinata sensed his distress, and sent him back to his room, claiming that she cou ld tell that he wasn't feeling well, and that he needed his rest.

Neji stumbled in to his rooms, and sank down on to his bed with a sigh. He gazed out the window without really seeing th e cloudy skies outside, and thought abou t what his uncle had just agreed to.

Neji felt waves of panic rising and cras hing in his stomach, and ran to the bath room where he vomited. Sighing, he washe d his mouth out, and stared at his refle ction in the sink.

Hopeless, terrified pearl-hued eyes star ed back at him from a desperate face. Ne ji sighed and turned away from the mirro r; hopefully, after a short nap, things would slightly better.

XXX

Neji sighed, and shifted uncomfortably b efore tucking Hinata's slender hand more securely in to his elbow. "I don't want to be here right now."

"I don't want to either," Hinata sighed. She looked lovely, in an elegant lavend er ball gown. "But, we must endure this horrid banquet for the sake of clan duty ."

"Indeed." Neji straightened his white gl oves, and did his best not to look nervo us, even though he could feel the scruti ny of the entire Uchiha delegation beari ng down on him. "Hinata…can you promise that you won't leave my side tonight? I don't want to get caught alone."

Hinata squeezed his elbow comfortingly. "Of course not, Neji-nii."

"Thanks." Neji sighed, but then perked u p when the orchestra began to play one o f his favorite waltzes. "Would you like to dance, Hinata?"

"No, not yet. I still have to greet many of the guests," Hinata covered her mout h with her hand as she yawned lightly. " I'm sorry Neji-nii…I know how much you l ike this waltz, but-"

She was smoothly interrupted by the appe arance of Itachi. "Would you care to dan ce?" he asked the two cousins politely.

Even though Itachi was looking at him, N eji pretended to misunderstand. "Oh—here , I'll leave you two to it." He smiled, and gently disentangled Hinata's hand fr om his elbow before hurrying away from h is fiancé. He didn't want to face the ma n who, for indiscernible reasons, wanted his hand in marriage.

Hinata smiled somewhat awkwardly at Itac hi, who seemed surprised by Neji's hasty departure. "Don't worry; Neji is just a little shy."

"I see," Itachi said, quickly regaining his composure. "Well, since he has left us alone, would you care to dance, Lady Hinata?"

"I would be honored." She curtsied, and then stepped in to his arms before twirl ing away across the dance floor.

"Itachi-san, why did you request that Ne ji be your wife?" she asked abruptly.

"It is as my father said, Hinata-sama. W e believe that a marriage will be more e ffective to the peace than a signed cont ract. We both know how hot-headed our cl an members can get."

Hinata didn't believe a word of it, yet she couldn't sense any ulterior motive. "But…this is so sudden, Itachi-san. Have n't you ever hoped that you might marry for love?"

"I think that, given time, I will come t o love Neji," Itachi said thoughtfully. "But I have never thought that I might m arry for love." The waltz ended, and he released her hand. "Thank you for the da nce, Hinata-sama."

"It was a pleasure." Hinata smiled at hi m, and did her best to hide her distrust . She didn't know very much about Itachi ; their clans had always been at odds wi th each other, ever since she was a litt le girl. He was rumored to be a formidab le military genius, and a great warrior who acted without mercy on the battlefie ld.

Despite her doubts, Hinata tried to dred ge up the things she knew were good abou t Itachi. Itachi had been at the Hyuga m anor with the rest of his delegation for the past three months, and she knew tha t he could be gentle and kind. He treate d everyone politely and respectfully, an d even though Hinata didn't know how he acted in private, she had no doubts that he was a great soul. He acted benevolen tly and authoritatively, with the markin gs of a truly great leader. She could on ly hope that Neji's somewhat shy disposi tion to could hold up to Itachi's will.

Meanwhile, Neji was drifting through the shadows of the ballroom. He had watched his cousin and Itachi dance for a few m inutes, and then wandered away as feelin gs of confusion and fear threatened to o vertake him. He made sure to stay in the shadows where he could make a quick exi t; he wasn't taking any chances of being caught alone by an Uchiha tonight.

Neji saw Itachi heading towards him out of the corner of his eye, and briefly ad mired Itachi's piercing eyesight (Neji h ad made a point of hiding himself in one of the murkier corners of the ballroom) before scurrying away and losing himsel f in a crowd of dancers. He carefully ma de his way out of the group before quiet ly ducking in to a small alcove by a lar ge, glass window. It was hard to spot th e location, and he was certain that he c ould stay hidden here for a while. He cu rled up on a cushion on the window seat and stared up at the moon; when he'd bee n younger, a potential match had been se t up for him. It had been with a distant female cousin who had been the same age as him; he'd only been eleven years old when the match was set up, but he'd had similar thoughts then. He'd wondered wh at love was, and what marriage meant, an d what it would be like when he was olde r. The engagement had been broken off, b ut Neji smiled softly as he remembered h is childish self. He'd met the girl a co uple of times, and she'd seemed like a n ice person. Neji vaguely wondered where she was now, and how she was doing.

Neji started when a hand drew back the c urtain that separated him from the ballr oom. "Who—" Neji blinked in surprise whe n he saw that it was Itachi holding the curtain back. "…Ah. Um." His mind blanke d, and he remained frozen in shock, curl ed up on his cushion.

Itachi blinked, and then stepped forward , allowing the curtain to drop behind hi m. "Do you mind if I sit with you?"

Neji forced himself to move, and he uncu rled from his position. "I d-don't mind at all," he stammered. He felt extremely uncomfortable; he could feel his palms breaking in to a sweat, and he was certa in that his face was bright red.

"If you say so," Itachi said, a teasing note of disbelief in his voice. He sat d own beside Neji, and patted the empty sp ace between them. "You don't have to act properly in front of me, you know. If y ou felt more comfortable curled up in th e corner, you should sit that way."

"Why would you say such a thing?"

"You look very uncomfortable," Itachi sh rugged. "I don't want you to be uncomfor table on my account."

Neji rolled his eyes. "I am perfectly co mfortable sitting like this, thanks," he said acidly.

"Well, either way, it doesn't matter sin ce we'll be learning all of each other's habits soon enough," Itachi said absent -mindedly.

Neji looked over at him, and then looked away. "I suppose so," he said softly.

Itachi regarded him for a moment. "I apo logize. I've made you uncomfortable."

"It's alright, I'm fine," Neji said imme diately.

Itachi shook his head. "Do you make it a habit of saying things that you don't m ean?"

Neji flushed angrily. "You're not very g ood at talking to people, are you?"

"I am trying to be open with you."

Neji sighed; this guy was just too weird . "What, are you expecting me to be trul y open with you as well?"

"Yes? I don't understand what's wrong wi th that," Itachi frowned.

"Why would I want to be open with the ma n that wants to steal me away from the h ome I've known my whole life?" Neji snar led. Neji felt awful after he said it, b ut he realized that that was the way he truly felt.

To Neji's surprise, a small smile wormed its way across Itachi's face. "I see. S o this is the reason you've been avoidin g me…do you hate me, then?"

"No!" Neji gasped in surprise. True, he might be resentful and afraid, but he di dn't feel any hatred. "I don't _hate _you—I just, I just shouldn't have said t hat. I apologize." Neji bowed his head.

"It's alright. I can understand if you a re afraid."

"Thank you," Neji murmured softly.

Neji nearly flinched backwards when he f elt Itachi's fingers gently grip his chi n and turn his face upwards. "What are y ou doing?"

"Neji, have you ever kissed a boy?" Itac hi ignored Neji's question.

"Um…no? Why would you want to know somet hing like that?" Neji frowned in confusi on; where had that question even come fr om?

Itachi didn't respond for a few moments. When he did, he released his gentle hol d on Neji's chin. "You're very pure."

"…That's not an answer to my question," Neji said, his irritation resurging.

"I asked because I wanted to kiss you," Itachi said in a tone that indicated tha t Neji had missed something obvious. "Yo u're quite dense, aren't you?"

"You _what_?"

"Well, I wasn't going to choose someone to marry that I didn't find desirable," Itachi said in exasperation.

Neji flushed a deep shade of red. "…Do y ou even know what you sound like?"

"Haven't you ever had someone tell you h ow beautiful you are?"

Neji shook his head quietly.

"…You really are pure, aren't you?"

Neji sighed in embarrassment. "Stop sayi ng that like it's a bad thing."

"Oh, I don't think it is at all." Neji g ulped when Itachi rested a forward hand on his thigh; when had he closed the dis tance between them? "I look forward to b eing the one to break that purity."

Neji gasped and stared at Itachi with st artled eyes before obeying his body's fr ightened response and pushing Itachi awa y, running pell-mell from the little win dow seat.

Even as he was running away, though, he couldn't suppress the tiny tingle of exc itement he felt at the sound of Itachi's warm laughter.

XXX

A week later, Neji found himself standin g in front of his mirror. He stared in t o his eyes, and then looked away, ashame d of the naked terror he found in them. Even though he and Itachi had gotten off to a curious start, he found that Itach i was quite likeable, and he was looking forward to spending more time with him. However, he was worried about the hosti lity that he knew he would face within t he Uchiha territory. Itachi certainly wo uldn't be around to protect him all the time and Neji was scared of going to go live in a place where he knew that he wo uld be surrounded by people who didn't c are about him at all.

Neji started when Hinata knocked on the doorframe, and then stepped through the door. "You look fine, Neji-nii."

Neji shook his head, and hastily stepped away from the mirror. "It's not that; I was just lost in my thoughts."

Hinata's face opened in understanding, a nd she reached out to give Neji a hug. " You'll write to us, won't you? And you'l l let us know right away if anything hap pens?"

"Of course I will."

Hinata could sense that her cousin was s till ill at ease. "Don't worry Neji-nii; we'll come visit you in a month for the wedding. Don't worry so." She drew back and pressed her mouth to his forehead. "All will be well, Neji."

Neji smiled, slightly comforted by Hinat a's assurances. "It shall be as you say. "

Both cousins left Neji's newly emptied r ooms, and headed toward the rest of his family. Neji felt time slipping like san d through his fingers, and before he qui te realized what was happening, he had b een loaded in to a carriage, and was wat ching his family mansion recede in to th e distance.

"Neji."

Neji started as Itachi jerked him out of his thoughts. "Yes?" Currently, he was seated across from Itachi, by the door.

"Come sit by me." Neji complied, quickly ducking across the carriage, and ploppi ng down by Itachi's side.

Itachi's arm came up to encircle his wai st. "Are you sad?"

Neji leaned in to Itachi's embrace. "…Ye s," he admitted.

"I'm sorry," Itachi said seriously. "It' s not right to tear you away from your f amily this way."

Neji smiled tightly. "We are getting mar ried to preserve the peace between our c lans. Some sacrifices need to be made."

"Hm." The steady rhythm of the carriage wheels running over the road was making Itachi sleepy, and he covered his yawn. He looked down at Neji when he felt Neji 's head fall on his shoulder, and then s miled slightly when he saw that the litt le Hyuga was already fast asleep; after all, it must have been an extremely tiri ng week for Neji.

A small contented smile quirked on Itach i's lips, and he leaned his down to rest on Neji's, and allowed himself to slip in to the land of dreams.

XXX

A month later, Neji found himself nervou sly fussing with the edges of an elabora te wedding kimono. Many things had happe ned to him in the last month; he'd met a ll of Itachi's family, received extensiv e lessons about Uchiha culture, and had spent quality time with Itachi's mother learning about his new duties. He'd been well-received for the most part, but th ere were still some Uchiha who were oppo sed to the peace, and were extremely out -spoken in their hatred. There had alrea dy been five unsuccessful kidnapping att empts, and three attacks on Neji's perso n. Neji frowned as he remembered the she er hatred shining out of the perpetrator s' eyes as they were dragged away. His f ingers knotted tensely in his kimono, an d his mouth twisted in worry.

Suddenly, Mikoto swooped down on him and brushed his hands away. "Stop fussing w ith the edges; the embroidery will start to come undone," she scolded. She pause d, and then gave a sharp nod of approval . "You look lovely, Neji. I knew that th e blue would do wonders on you."

Neji looked down at himself. He was dres sed in a sapphire blue kimono with white lilies embroidered on it; his hair was done up in a precarious bun that was onl y being held up by a single sapphire enc rusted stick, and his face was covered i n make-up. "Thank you."

Mikoto waved his response away. "Now…are you feeling nervous, Neji?"

"A little," Neji admitted.

"Don't be," Mikoto told him firmly. "Eve rything will be fine. You are well prepa red for your new life. Have no doubt." S he patted him gingerly on the shoulder i n order to avoid mussing the artful drap ery of his robes, before hurrying off.

"Have no doubts," Neji murmured to himse lf. "If only," he snorted. The wedding c eremony had already taken place, and had gone smoothly; his uncle and Hinata had been present, along with Itachi's immed iate family. Now, Neji was dressed up fo r the reception that the entire clan and Hyuga delegation would attend, and was waiting for Itachi to get ready so that they could go down together.

Just when Neji started to feel impatient , Itachi hurried in to the room. "You to ok your time," Neji said tartly, even as he slipped his hand in to the crook of Itachi's arm.

"Mother wouldn't stop fussing," Itachi m urmured. "You know how dangerous the rec eption will be today, so she wouldn't st op worrying about security."

"I see." Neji's mind wandered briefly ba ck to his earlier thoughts on the kidnap pings, but he brushed his doubts aside. Tonight was his night to share with Itac hi; he had absolutely nothing to worry a bout. The couple headed downstairs in to the reception area where they were imme rsed in a sea of Itachi's relatives. Soo n, Neji found himself with a splitting h eadache from the rambunctious wedding ce lebrations going on around him.

Itachi noticed Neji's slightly pained ex pression. "Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm fine," Neji assured him. "It's just a bit loud in here, that's all."

"Let's head outside for a few minutes."

Neji hesitated. "Wouldn't it be rude to leave our guests?"

Itachi snorted, and gestured at the drun ken crowd around them. "Do you really th ink anyone will notice?"

Neji chuckled, and allowed Itachi to lea d them outside. He released a sigh of re lief as the cool night air washed over h is flushed cheeks, and his body started to cool down.

Itachi chuckled, and moved away from Nej i. "The reception was almost over anyway s. You held out for a lot longer than I thought you would; my head's been scream ing at me for the past hour."

"It just goes to show," Neji said cheerf ully as he walked over to stand beside I tachi. He looked over at husband's face, and raised an eyebrow at his alarmed ex pression. "What's the matter, Itachi?"

Itachi shook his head tersely. "Nothing. "

Neji frowned, and then strained his ears . Itachi had obviously heard _something_ to make him look so worried. He caught the sounds of someone moving lightly in the brush below the deck, and he before he realized what was going on, Itachi ha d thrown him away from the railing.

Neji landed hard on his back, and he sat up dazedly. Itachi was facing off with a masked intruder; Neji gasped, and inst inctually rolled out of the way as he fe lt someone coming up behind him. He jump ed to his feet, and struck out at his at tacker.

Neji felt a chill run down his spine whe n his attacker revealed a small silver k nife to him. Neji didn't have a weapon; luckily, he was trained in the martial a rts, so he could take on his attacker ev en though he was unarmed, but Neji felt a thrill of fear all the same. He didn't dare look behind himself to see how Ita chi was fairing, but he felt afraid as h e realized that Itachi was probably in t he exact same position as himself. Neji doubted that Itachi had had too much exp erience in fighting against an armed per son with no weapons at his disposal, and he hoped that Itachi would be able to h old his own.

Neji struck at his opponent's neck as th e person lunged toward him, and his atta cker fell down to the ground; Neji had h it a key pressure point in the person's neck, effectively paralyzing the person. Neji immediately whirled around to chec k on Itachi.

Neji released an enormous sigh of relief when he saw that Itachi had his opponen t pinned down. He hurried to Itachi's si de, and helped him bind the perpetrator with Itachi's jacket.

"What happened to yours?" Itachi asked h im, breathing hard.

Neji nodded his head in the direction of the second attacker.

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Why isn't he moving?"

"I paralyzed him." Neji walked over and crouched beside the person's still form and lifted back the mask. Neji's eyes wi dened when he saw a familiar tattoo on t he person's forehead.

Behind him, Itachi gasped in surprise. " …A Hyuga?!"

"Not just any Hyuga," Neji murmured soft ly. "This is my second cousin, Kyoko."

"I expected my family to attack tonight, not yours," Itachi murmured. "However…w ould your cousin have acted on her own?" Itachi had originally thought that Neji 's attacker had been male, but he'd been wrong.

"She wasn't highly opposed to either pea ce, or the marriage," Neji responded num bly. "I would never have expected such a n attack from her."

Itachi hastened over to the second intru der, who was beginning to stir. "Who con vinced her to instigate the attack, then ?" He leaned down and dug his fingers un der the second intruder's mask, and pull ed up.

Neji felt his stomach drop through the f loor at the sight of a second familiar f ace.

"_Hinata_?"

XXX

An hour later, Neji, Itachi, Hiashi and Fugaku were seated in a private room in the Uchiha mansion. Hinata and Kyoko wer e seated in front of them with their han ds bound behind their backs, and a pair of guards watching their every move.

"Hinata, what have you done?" Hiashi ask ed despairingly. "We have just worked ou t a peace between our lands. Why did you attack Neji and Itachi?"

"This peace is just a farce," Hinata spa t fiercely. "I didn't want Neji-nii to b e in this land during such hostile times ."

Fugaku grunted, and waved her words off to the side. He knew that she hadn't com mitted the crime out of hate for Itachi (on the contrary, he was actually quite certain that she'd come to fancy him a l ittle during their stay throughout the n egotiations), but she had undoubtedly be en worried for Neji. He could understand that, but that didn't mean that her act ions were excusable in any way. "You kne w the potential consequences of your act ions when you started to plan the attack . Normally, you would be put to death."

Neji went pale, but Hinata didn't back d own. "Then I will die," she said coldly. 

Fugaku ignored her impassive statement. "However, I do not believe this is a fit ting punishment for our situation. I can certainly say that you attacked Itachi with killing intent. However, the purpos e of Neji and Itachi's union is to end t he bloodshed between our clans, and to m aintain a lasting peace. We will keep th is incident quiet; we have already done so many negotiations, and too much campa igning for it all to be lost now. Instea d of being executed, you will receive fi fty lashes, and you will not be allowed to enter Uchiha territory for the next t en years. Is that appropriate, Hiashi?"

"She is my precious daughter," Hiashi ru mbled. "She will take my place as leader . How can she expect to maintain peace w ith you if she cannot enter Uchiha terri tory?"

"She will be able to maintain her link w ith us through Neji," Fugaku said calmly . "I see my sentence as a fit punishment for an attack on the heir to my clan. I f you see any other part of her sentence as unjust and unfair, then speak now."

Hiashi remained silent.

Fugaku nodded at the guards to take Hina ta away. "Your cousin has not committed such a serious crime as Hinata's, and sh e was influenced to do so. I will allow you to deal with her as you see fit, as Neji wasn't harmed in any way."

Hiashi nodded and stood. "I apologize fo r my daughter's actions, Fugaku. Hopeful ly, this will not further strain our fut ure relations."

"The matter has been taken care of, so I imagine they will not," Fugaku said cri sply. "Neji, Itachi, you are dismissed." 

Neji nodded, and left the room with Itac hi.

Itachi reached out and slipped his arm a round Neji's waist. "Are you alright?"

"Fine," Neji murmured. "I'm disappointed that Hinata did this though."

"It was certainly unexpected. I didn't t hink she had the gall to do such a thing ."

"Neither did I," Neji admitted. "We were both trained in self-defense, but she n ever wanted to attack our teacher becaus e she didn't want to hurt him. She also hated sparring with anyone, especially U ncle."

"Hmph."

They made their way back to their room i n silence; the mansion was quiet up in t he main family's quarters. The celebrati ons continued down stairs as the Uchiha clan and the Hyuga delegation proceeded to get drunk with the excuse of Neji and Itachi's wedding night; the sounds of d runken carousing floated through the nig ht air up through their windows.

Neji shut the door behind him, and then reached up and pulled his bun stick out of his hair. Itachi watched in awe as Ne ji's chestnut hair cascaded down his sho ulders in luxurious waves.

Neji turned around to see Itachi staring at him. "What?" he raised an eyebrow.

"…You're beautiful," Itachi said reveren tly.

Neji blushed. "Thank you." He couldn't h elp but react the same way every time It achi told him how beautiful he was. Neji was unused to the fluttery feeling he g ot in his stomach, and it unnerved him.

Itachi blinked, and then turned away. He unbuttoned his jacket, and stretched hi s arms out only to wince in pain and clu tch at his side.

Neji hurried to his side. "What's the ma tter? Did Hinata hurt you?" Neji gently helped Itachi take his jacket off, and g asped when he saw a dark stain blooming across the middle of Itachi's shirt. "Yo u're hurt!" he pushed Itachi in to a nea rby chair and hurried in to the kitchen to look for first-aid supplies. "Why did n't you say anything?"

"It doesn't hurt," Itachi said quickly.

"Don't give me that," Neji said testily. "You're bleeding." He hurried back to I tachi's side with first-aid supplies. He pushed Itachi's shirt up, cleansed his wound, and wrapped a clean bandage over it.

When Neji had finished, Itachi yawned, p ulled his shirt over his head and tossed it to the side. "It was just a shallow wound. It really doesn't hurt that much, Neji."

Neji rolled his eyes. Currently, he was kneeling in front of Itachi, who was sea ted in a chair. He gently reached out an d pressed his fingers to Itachi's side, over his bandage. "I told you not to giv e me that crap, Itachi." Neji didn't rem ove his hand.

Itachi reached out and cupped Neji's fac e. He smoothed his thumb down Neji's che ek before leaning down and kissing him.

Somehow, in between kisses, their clothe s had disappeared, and Itachi had transp orted them from a chair to his bed. He p laced Neji on the bed before sliding ove r and straddling Neji's hips. Neji let o ut a shaky moan as Itachi's hands starte d roaming his body, leaving no place unt ouched. Neji shut his eyes as he felt pl easure building in his belly; he gasped and writhed as Itachi teased pleasure ou t of his body in waves. There was a brie f moment of pain, but then it was gone a nd Neji was rising on a tidal wave of bl iss that was spreading across his entire body—

Neji screamed Itachi's name in sheer bli ss, and then his eyelids shut as his bod y trembled, and his mind fell in to swee t oblivion.

XXX

Neji was the first one to wake the follo wing morning. He moaned sleepily and cud dled closer to the source of warmth on h is left.

He opened his eyes sleepily, and blinked in surprise when he saw Itachi's sleepi ng face beside his. "How silly," he murm ured aloud, laughing to himself. Of cour se Itachi's face was next to his.

Neji's soft laughter awakened Itachi. "G ood morning," he mumbled.

Neji's laughter died away, and he leaned over and pressed a chaste kiss to Itach i's lips. "Good morning."

"What time is it?"

"Too early," Neji murmured. He slipped h is arm over Itachi's waist beneath the c overs. "Go back to sleep."

Itachi looked over Neji's head, and rais ed an eyebrow when he saw that it was st ill dark outside. "…What woke you?"

Neji shrugged sleepily, but made no furt her reply.

Itachi chuckled, and let Neji fall back asleep. Really, Neji was just too cute. He sighed, and stared at the wall as Nej i's breath evened out beside him.

Yesterday had been a hectic day for ever yone. Itachi vaguely wondered whether or not Hinata's sentence had been carried out, and how she would fare through her wounds. Granted, she'd had the nerve to actually full out attack him despite his battlefield prowess, but bursts of patr iotic idiocy rarely spoke for physical e ndurance.

Itachi strained his ears; from past expe rience, Neji was a fairly heavy sleeper. What had woken him?

When he heard nothing, he relaxed his bo dy. He ran a gentle hand through Neji's hair, and carefully slipped out of bed w ithout waking his husband. He pulled som e clothes over his head before tip-toein g out of the room and shutting the door behind him.

He was unsurprised to see his father wai ting for him in his living room; that wa s the way his father infiltrated places, absolutely silently. "Father?"

"Good morning, son."

Itachi instantly threw the knife conceal ed behind his back at the intruder. The knife hit the man in the arm, and Itachi began to tie the man's arms behind his back as the illusion fell from his face. 

"You fool. Don't you think that I would recognize my father if he truly stood be fore me?" Itachi asked resignedly. He se cured the intruder's feet, and then chec ked the intruder's face; he was unsurpri sed to see one of his cousins grimacing back at him. Shisui had never truly supp orted the idea of peace with the Hyuga.

Itachi turned around when he heard Neji coming out of the bedroom. "Did I wake y ou?"

Neji rubbed a tired hand over his eyes. "It doesn't matter."

"People will get over this," Itachi assu red him. He deftly reached out and pulle d the knife out of Shisui's arm before h e could react. Shisui's face twisted in pain, but he remained silent.

Neji shook his head. "When will they get over it?" he padded over and took the k nife from Itachi. "What are you going to do with him?"

"I'll take him down to someone who can l ook at his arm," Itachi said shortly.

"I can do that."

"What, really? He was here to try and ki ll you, you know."

Neji shrugged. "Well, he didn't succeed did he?" Neji padded in to the kitchen a nd grabbed a box full of medical supplie s.

Shisui watched in astonishment as Neji s at down beside him and began cleaning hi s wounds. Neji winced as he began to cle an out the bleeding hole in Shisui's arm . "You went deep, Itachi."

Itachi shrugged. "Well, I didn't want hi m stabbing me either."

"This will hurt," Neji told Shisui. He g ently applied a compress of herbs to the open flesh. "He won't be able to use hi s arm for a good nine months."

"All the better for you and me," Itachi said shortly.

Shisui hissed in pain as his arm began t o throb.

"Sorry about that," Neji apologized. He removed the herbs, cleansed the wound wi th warm water, and tied it off. "Change the wrappings every day."

Shisui nodded dazedly even as Neji untie d him. Neji gently untied his hands, pus hed him out the door, and closed with a click.

After the incident with Shisui, word spr ead around that Neji was a kind, compass ionate person, the perfect wife for the next clan leader. There were no more att acks on Neji, and the two clans slowly c ame to be at peace with each other.

Sixty years later, Neji, Hinata, and Ita chi sat in front of the fire and watched their grandchildren playing together in the Hyuga rose garden.

"To think that you thought we had ulteri or motives for wanting Neji," Itachi chu ckled. Old age had been kind to him; he was still as handsome as ever, and full of charisma.

Hinata chuckled from her seat by the fir e. She had never fully recovered from th e lashings of sixty years ago, and had b een confined to a wheel chair ever since . "I paid well for my lesson. But look a t us now! No one could have imagined suc h a scene when we were children."

Neji smiled softly as he looked outside. "We have created a lasting peace." He r eached out and gripped Itachi's hand fir mly; lately, Neji had been feeling sick, and had been confined indoors. He cough ed weakly in to his elbow, and then lean ed against Itachi's shoulder.

Itachi smiled, and followed Neji's gaze to the glorious rosebushes. "Do you know …the day the marriage proposal was offer ed to you, I was watching you and Hinata outside in the garden?"

Neji remembered back to when he was seve nteen, and he'd felt a chill run down hi s spine while he and Hinata had been rel axing outside. "So it was you then? I re member knowing that someone was watching me, but then I became afraid and ran aw ay."

"It's just as well. I did feel a bit cre epy for watching you for so long."

Neji laughed at Itachi, and Hinata smile d at the cute couple.

Later, after Neji and Itachi had retired to bed, they lay in each other's arms.

"You know, this peace is truly accredite d to you, Neji."

Neji didn't completely register Itachi's words as he enjoyed feeling Itachi's ch est vibrate beneath his cheek. "…What?"

"You're the true cause of today's peace, " Itachi repeated himself. "Not our marr iage."

"What do you mean?"

"Your kindness towards Shisui was what c onvinced the clan that it was possible f or us to coexist peacefully."

"Well, I think that the fact that we wer e married was certainly a factor in the peace as well," Neji yawned. "And then, when I had children, I mean really, what was your clan _supposed_ to do?"

Itachi chuckled. "But still…Neji, you've heard this from me so often, but I mean it every time. You're beautiful, you're amazing, and I love you from the bottom of my heart."

Neji flushed, and tried to slow the beat ing of his heart. Even now, sixty years later, he still couldn't control himself around Itachi. "I love you too."

They shared a sweet kiss, and then fell asleep, safe in the arms of the one they loved.

**The End**

**a/n:** Hey guys! So…thank you for reading. Thi s is unbetaed, and was written pretty qu ickly so I apologize for the choppiness. This was extremely fluffy as per usual, but I hope you guys still liked it. Tha nks for reading, and don't forget to rev iew! Also, if you liked this pairing or my writing, feel free to check out my ot her works Again, thanks so much for re ading, and hopefully, we'll meet again i n another story!


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